From Tony Durkin
FOURBALL MATCH PLAY: Former professional tennis player Mick Kinnear may have lost his partner, but he has set a red-hot pace in quest of his second Headland Medley Fourball Best Ball Match Play Championship. Mick won last year’s inaugural event, but his playing partner and good mate Mick Kelsey was unavailable for Sunday’s qualifying round of the championship, which is again sponsored by Michael Thomas of Zenfind Accounting. But Mick Kinnear found himself a new partner – Headland Director of Golf Tony Kelleher – and the pairing started with a bang scoring 49 points and being the leading qualifier. And Mick was on fire, scoring 39 of the 49 points from his 18 handicap, with an incredible five birdies on his card. The championship will continue over the next three weeks, with the quarter finals next Sunday (November 3), the semis on November 10 and the final on November 17. The eight qualifying teams from Sunday were Mick Kinnear and Tony Kelleher, Tom Burnett and Lang Pryor, Warren Sorby and Warren Selvage, Matt Macaulay and Dan Diachkoff, Bill Oster and Sean Hanna, Barry Newton and Gary Martin, Matt and Jack Fisher and Raewyn Anderson and Warren Gee.
FRIENDS INDEED: Jack Pyke said he joined Headland three years ago because he lived nearby, and heard it was a friendly club. And on Saturday it was those many friends who helped him celebrate his best-ever round at the club– a three-over par 75, which garnered him 43 points from his 11 handicap and helped him and partner Brian Richards win the Fourball Aggregate Stableford event with a phenomenal 83 points. Despite a double bogey seven at the second hole, Jack was suitably pleased with his 20 points on the front nine, and was then ecstatic with 23 on the back, with birdies on both par threes. And his partner was almost as effective – Brian had 23 on the front, and 17 on the back for a gross 81 from his 13 handicap. In fact, so dominant was their performance that the side bet with Ken Anderson and Roger Van Ginkel was over after the 11th hole. Initially a Horton Park member from 1990, Jack took a sabbatical from golf while his children grew up, re-joined in 2008 and then moved to Maroochy River when the new course was opened. Once playing off as low as six, he has been hovering around 10, 11 and 12 since joining Headland, but after Saturday’s superb round his GA is now down to nine.
PINK ACE: Helen Fraser will long remember the socks and golf balls she won for ‘her’ hole-in-one shot at the 18th in Thursday’s Ladies Pink Scrambled Ambrose event. Helen’s group teed off on the 17th hole in the shotgun start and were the second to reach the 18th, where three-handicapper Jamie Hill had generously donated his time – and his talent – to hit tee shots to raise funds for the Cindy McKenzie Breast Cancer Program. Helen was the first in her group to offer Jamie her ball, and the Property Today Property Consultant promptly hit it in the hole for his first ace in his two years as a Headland member. Jamie, resplendent in a pink wig and pink tutu, hit 114 shots during the morning round and apart from the eagle, all but seven of the groups converted his tee shots into birdies. The team of Sue Jones, Jodie McDonell, Kathy Atkins and Monica Knowles won the event with a newt core of 59.375, a smidgen in front of the quartet of Naomi Doyle, Coralie Walsh, Liz Dunford and Wendy Derrick (59.875).
Jamie Hill with (from left) Maureen Cartledge, Bev Barnes, Helen O’Neil and Helen Fraser
DOUBLES HURT: Despite producing his best-ever round on Saturday, such is the competitive nature of surfer/skateboarder turned golfer Morgan Winston, that he was still not satisfied. Playing off a handicap of 13, Morgan scored 45 points in the Fourball Aggregate Stableford event and he and partner Reily Moffat finished third in the big field of 239 players with 77 points. And notwithstanding three birdies and a back nine of two under the card, the 27-year-old metal fabricator was filthy at the fact he had two double bogeys in his round of 76. Morgan did not take up golf seriously until four years ago when he was working in the small Canadian town of Revelstoke, where there was no skate park. He returned to the Sunshine Coast in 2017, joined Headland on a handicap of 25 and in the interim has reduced that to 11, thanks chiefly to playing with a group of mates who are low markers and have challenged his competitive nature. And while Saturday’s partner Reily – a Canadian – contributed only 32 points to the overall total, he had his share of glory too – a chip-in eagle at seven and a birdie at 16.
RARE ROUND: George Stoopin is 81 years of age and once played off a handicap of 10, but he has never shot the lights out like he did on Wednesday. On a day when scores in the Medley Single Stableford were well above average, former banker George topped the list with 45 points, winning C Grade by two points from Cody Laskey, who was one of five players on that score in near-perfect golfing conditions. George, whose current handicap is 29, had eight three-point holes and a four-point birdie on the 11th in what he described as ‘one of those days’. Also having a day out were other 43-point scorers Cody Laskey, Wayne Phair and Rob Cunningham, two of whom returned their best-ever Stableford score at Headland. And there were also two under-par scores – 70 from Brad Butler for 39 points, and 71 from Jake Crowther (37).
MATES ON FIRE: Gary Rugless and Phil Kornmann have proved wrong the expression ‘familiarity breeds contempt’. The mates, who first met at Headland when Gary joined the club six years ago, play together three times a week and on Tuesday came home in a blaze of glory to win the Medley Fourball Best Ball Stableford event with 49 points. They scored 27 points on the back nine, with Gary (handicap 16) shining on the final three holes with a four-point birdie on 16, and three-point pars on 17 and 18. And they certainly needed the strong finish to win on a countback, with three other groups also scoring 49 points. Ironically, retired fireman Gary said the pair were red hot on the greens while Phil, a former architect playing off 22, plotted his game well, scoring on 10 holes.
REED EAGLE: Alan Reed – handicap 22 – has claimed his first golfing eagle. Playing in the family HMR Group in Friday’s annual Men of League golf day at Twin Waters, Alan ‘won’ the long drive on the 18th hole, courtesy of Headland member Ryley Martin who was hitting tee shots for all groups. Alan then struck a seven iron to within three metres of the pin, and promptly sank the putt. Because the Ambrose event was not a sanctioned AGU fixture, no inquiry into the legality of Alan’s eagle will be launched.
WHOOPS: Work commitments and the recent spate of wet weather has prevented Tony Dunford from playing as much golf as he would like, and it showed in his round on Wednesday. A tad rusty with his finesse, Tony could muster only 28 points in his Medley Single Stableford round, which included four wipes. However, there were still evidence of the of abundant talent of the former six marker – he birdied holes 6, 11 and 15. Tony says he is now committed to return to his regimen of playing two days a week.
WEEKLY WINNERS:
Tuesday, Medley Fourball Best Ball Stableford (126 players) – Gary Rugless and Phil Kornmann (49 points), Catherine Janiszewski and Leeanne Ptak (49), Bill Morton and Paul Hughes (49).
Wednesday, Medley Single Stableford (203 players) – A Grade, Rob Cunningham (43 points), Peter Gablonski (41), Brad Butler (39); B Grade, Wayne Phair (43), Mark Barlow (43), Brent Dalby (42); C Grade, George Stoopin (45), Cody Laskey (43), Graham Wilson (43).
Thursday, Ladies, Pink Scrambled Ambrose (114 players) – Sue Jones, Jodie McDonell, Kathy Atkins and Monica Knowles (59.375 nett), Naomi Doyle, Coralie Walsh, Liz Dunford and Wendy Derrick (59.875), Mouna Humzy, Rebecca Masters and Jenny Ingham (63.833). Men, Blue Scrambled Ambrose (99 players) – Matthew Brady, Les McClymont, Dean Smareglia and Alan Gill (53.5 nett), David O’Mahoney, Graham Myers, Russell Cooper and John Alsbury (55.5), Graeme Warne, Mal Galletley, Ian Busch and Mark Dolan (56.625).
Saturday, Medley Fourball Aggregate Stableford (239 players) – Brian Richards and Jack Pyke (83 points), Stu Ennever and Ed Hoey (78), Morgan Winston and Reily Moffat (77), Greg McDonald and John Christmas (77), Gavin Terry and Greg Stray (75).
Sunday, Medley Fourball Best Ball Stableford (62 players) – Mick Kinnear and Tony Kelleher (49 points), Tom Burnett and Lang Pryor (49).
